Scottish Executive

Aggregates Tax

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proportion of the revenue from the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund will be allocated to it in the current financial year.

Ross Finnie: No. The Aggregates Levy comes into force in April 2002 and so the revenue from the Aggregates Levy will be allocated from 2002-03.

Aggregates Tax

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scotland’s share of the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund will be ring-fenced.

Ross Finnie: Scotland’s share of the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund will be added to the Scottish Executive DEL and is not ring-fenced.

Aggregates Tax

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what Scotland’s share of the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund will be and what it will be spent on.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the use of the revenue from the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund will have in improving the environment.

Ross Finnie: Scotland will receive approximately £3 million per year from 2002-03 as part of the allocation by the Treasury of the proceeds of the Aggregates Levy. Decisions on how it will be spent have yet to be made.

Arts

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) why there has been a delay in responding to the Scottish Arts Council’s submission for funding for a Scottish National Theatre and related projects and (b) when it plans to respond to the submission.

Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18806 on 1 November 2001.

Civil Service

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to disperse civil service jobs to Dumfries and Galloway.

Angus MacKay: Our policy on the location of public sector jobs involves examining a range of locations when possible moves are being considered. All Scottish local authorities and Local Enterprise Companies have been asked to supply information about suitable sites or development opportunities in their areas. All parts of Scotland, including Dumfries and Galloway, will continue to be considered.

Community Care

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an assessment of the cost implications for owners of residential and nursing homes of the changes in physical standards for care homes recently announced by the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care as part of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 and how it intends to take this into account in the determination of fees paid by local authorities for care places.

Malcolm Chisholm: Earlier this year, the Scottish Executive commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a firm of quantity surveyors, to undertake a national survey of physical standards in existing residential and nursing homes in Scotland. We also consulted on proposed draft physical standards.

  As a result of this work, the period within which existing providers should offer single rooms to those people who want them was extended from 2003 to 2007. We also made the installation of en-suite facilities in existing homes optional. These changes should enable existing providers to meet the new physical standards at minimal cost.

  The National Review Group which is to recommend care home fee levels from April 2002 is taking the new care standards into account in its work.

Crime Prevention

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received concerning the Thumbprint Signature Scheme, which is being used in Inverness to combat credit card fraud; whether it will endorse the use of the scheme and the associated Thumbs Up campaign, and whether it will encourage all towns and cities to participate in the scheme.

Iain Gray: Whilst the Executive welcomes such a crime prevention initiative, the scheme relies upon the voluntary co-operation of the public and the support of the retail sector. We will be interested to see any evaluation of the effectiveness of the scheme.

Crime Prevention

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage the Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers to support the Thumbprint Signature Scheme.

Iain Gray: This a matter for the banking sector to consider, in relation to the range of new technologies available and fraud prevention procedures currently in use or being developed.

Education

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14686 by Nicol Stephen on 4 May 2001, what progress is being made on how the e-Learning Foundation initiative on the provision of computer equipment for young people might apply in Scotland.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Executive remains very interested in models of private sector involvement to improve investment in and provision of e-learning. We are continuing to explore with the foundation how an extension of its activities into Scotland might bring about a step-change in access to e-learning.

Education

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to provide all schoolchildren with their own personal e-mail accounts.

Mr Jack McConnell: Pupils’ e-mail addresses are provided by education authorities as part of the development of the National Grid for Learning in their schools. This development has been supported by £79.6 million from the Scottish Executive since 1999.

  The Executive wrote to all education authorities in March 2001 to make it clear that use of class rather than individual e-mail addresses may be appropriate for younger pupils in the light of concerns about Internet safety.

Energy Conservation

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary to question S1O-3848 by Jackie Baillie on 27 September 2001, whether it will now provide information on the performance of each local authority in respect of home energy conservation.

Jackie Baillie: We will seek local authorities’ views on the kind of data from their second progress reports under the Home Energy Conservation Act, which might be published at local authority level by the Executive. The second progress reports will cover the two years from April 1999 to March 2001 and are due to be submitted to the Executive at the end of January 2002. Authorities themselves must publish their reports in their entirety.

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications were made under the Powershift programme to convert (a) private and (b) commercial vehicles to (i) liquefied natural gas and (ii) liquid petroleum gas in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: This information was provided on 21 September, in response to a question by Mr Kenny MacAskill. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17986 on 21 September 2001.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used to rank the funding bids under the Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2001.

Rhona Brankin: Applications will be considered in accordance with the arrangements set out in the Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2001 (SSI 2001/332) and associated scheme documentation. They will be evaluated and ranked having regard to:

  the cost of the bid;

  the level of capacity to be removed;

  the level of recorded landings of white fish (cod, haddock, whiting and hake), nephrops and scallops by the vessel concerned during 1999 and 2000;

  the level of recorded fishing activity (days on fishing trips) by the vessel during 1999 and 2000, and

  whether or not the licence to be surrendered carries a scallop entitlement.

  The precise weight to be given to each of these factors in the evaluation process will be decided following analysis of decommissioning bids received.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the owners of fishing vessels who make an unsuccessful funding bid under the Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2001 will be provided with a clear explanation as to why their bid was unsuccessful.

Rhona Brankin: The Regulations (The Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2001) provide that applicants shall be notified, in writing, of the results of their application for decommissioning grant. The intention is to advise unsuccessful applicants why their grant bid has not been successful.

Fisheries

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what account is being taken of the costs associated with the analysis and disposal of Tributylin or Tryphenyltin coatings on boats under the Fishing Vessels Decommissioning (Scotland) Scheme 2001.

Rhona Brankin: Scheme guidance material makes clear that vessel owners should investigate the practicalities and costs of decommissioning, which will need to be covered by any decommissioning grant payable, before submitting a grant bid. Costs involved are likely to depend on the circumstances of the individual vessel concerned. Grant payments are subject to maxima set out in EC legislation.

Fisheries

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what methods of disposal it recommends for the decommissioning of fishing vessels painted with Tributylin or Triphenyltin coatings and what estimates it has of the costs involved in such disposal.

Rhona Brankin: Scheme legislation and guidance material provides that vessels may be decommissioned by means of:

  scrapping, or

  permanent re-assignment to a purpose other than fishing e.g. placed in a museum, converted to a pleasure craft etc, or

  permanent transfer to a third country.

  No particular methods of disposal are recommended, but the owners of vessels to be scrapped are required to ensure that the disposal meets regulatory, including environmental, requirements.

  Costs involved are likely to depend on individual vessel circumstances and are a matter for the vessels’ owners.

Fisheries

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to place restrictions on those who decommission fishing vessels in order to prevent them from buying other fishing vessels.

Rhona Brankin: No.

Further Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which further education colleges will benefit from the £15 million funding package announced by the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning on 3 October 2001 and how much each will receive.

Ms Wendy Alexander: All Scotland’s incorporated further education colleges will benefit from the £15 million in new money which the Scottish Executive is making available to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. It is for the Funding Council to decide on the level of funding allocated to each college.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has conducted or commissioned into selenium deficiency and any increased risk of coronary heart disease, depression or mental illness and what the result of any such research was.

Susan Deacon: The Environment and Rural Affairs Department is currently funding an on-going programme of strategic research into the biological role of selenium and the effect of marginal selenium deficiency on human and animal health. This includes basic studies on thyroid function and heart disease, which will allow us to predict how selenium status affects health but will not directly demonstrate the relative risk of human disease in association with selenium deficiency.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all stroke patients can be assured of receiving the appropriate level of physiotherapy services.

Susan Deacon: Patients who have suffered a stroke are assessed by the health care team and their needs identified in order that care can be provided by the appropriate members of the team.

  The Coronary Heart Disease/Stroke Task Force acknowledges the role which the Professions Allied to Medicine (PAM) make to our response to the care of people suffering from these conditions. The report is out for consultation, and the covering letter specifically invites comments about the ways in which the contribution of PAMs could be extended in future.

Higher Education

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans for a review of the public funding of higher education research in the arts and humanities following the announcement of a review in England by the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education at the Department for Education and Skills

Ms Wendy Alexander: The review announced in September by the Department for Education and Skills in England (see http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2001_0347) was jointly commissioned by all the UK administrations. There are no plans for a separate review in Scotland.

Housing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15734 by Jackie Baillie on 22 May 2001, whether it has completed the review into Grants for Rent or Owner Occupation scheme.

Jackie Baillie: The review is unlikely to be completed until the New Year.

Local Elections

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3826 by Angus MacKay on 27 September 2001, what specific measures will be introduced later this year for local elections to make it easier for the visually impaired to vote and under which legislation this will be done.

Peter Peacock: Section 13 of the Representation of the People Act 2000 provides for the display of a large-print version of the ballot paper and provision of a template to assist blind and partially sighted voters. These provisions currently apply to parliamentary elections only and secondary legislation to extend them to local government elections will be put before Parliament later this year.

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of companies have taken on young people under the employment option of the New Deal for Young People since the New Deal’s inception.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Employment Policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.

  This information is not collected. However, 13,800 employers in Scotland had signed up to the New Deal by the end of August 2001.

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have moved into unsubsidised employment directly from the Gateway stage since the scheme’s inception, broken down by unit of delivery.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.

  Of the 39,461 people who have left the Gateway Stage of New Deal for Young People, 16,916 (43%) have moved into unsubsidised jobs. These figures are broken down by unit of delivery in the table.

  


Unit of Delivery 
  

Number of young people leaving Gateway into 
  unsubsidised employment 
  



Argyll & The Islands 
  

 212 
  



Ayrshire 
  

 1,616 
  



BORDERs 
  

 254 
  



Caithness & Sutherland 
  

 113 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

 442 
  



Dumbarton 
  

 798 
  



Edinburgh, East & Mid Lothian 
  

 1,370 
  



Fife 
  

 1,348 
  



Forth Valley 
  

 1,032 
  



Glasgow 
  

 2,629 
  



Grampian 
  

 824 
  



Inverness & Nairn 
  

 175 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

 2,589 
  



Lochaber 
  

 62 
  



Moray, Strathspey & Badenoch 
  

 195 
  



Orkney 
  

 35 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

 974 
  



Ross & Cromarty 
  

 165 
  



Shetland 
  

 28 
  



Skye & Lochalsh 
  

 46 
  



Tayside 
  

 1,417 
  



West Lothian 
  

 526 
  



Western Isles 
  

 66 
  



Total 
  

 16,916

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have enrolled in the (a) employment (b) full-time education and training, (c) voluntary sector and (d) environmental task force options of the New Deal for Young People since its inception, broken down by each unit of delivery.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations

  The figures requested, by Unit of Delivery, are as follows:

  


Unit of Delivery 
  

Employment Option 
  

FTET Option 
  

Vol. Sector Option 
  

Env. Task Force Option 
  



Argyll & The Islands 
  

 102 
  

 80 
  

 46 
  

 144 
  



Ayrshire 
  

 841 
  

 979 
  

 827 
  

 637 
  



BORDERs 
  

 136 
  

 115 
  

 169 
  

 143 
  



Caithness & Sutherland 
  

 39 
  

 99 
  

 23 
  

 64 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

 279 
  

 423 
  

 188 
  

 123 
  



Dumbarton 
  

 255 
  

 497 
  

 188 
  

 354 
  



Edinburgh, East & Mid Lothian 
  

 420 
  

 622 
  

 477 
  

 539 
  



Fife 
  

 468 
  

 1,089 
  

 362 
  

 668 
  



Forth Valley 
  

 492 
  

 701 
  

 326 
  

 385 
  



Glasgow 
  

 920 
  

 2,596 
  

 1,273 
  

 1.311 
  



Grampian 
  

 190 
  

 348 
  

 229 
  

 131 
  



Inverness & Nairn 
  

 71 
  

 135 
  

 50 
  

 68 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

 967 
  

 1,564 
  

 769 
  

 1,211 
  



Lochaber 
  

 8 
  

 7 
  

 6 
  

 8 
  



Moray, Strathspey & Badenoch 
  

 72 
  

 48 
  

 78 
  

 83 
  



Orkney 
  

 28 
  

 6 
  

 6 
  

 21 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

 259 
  

 558 
  

 530 
  

 365 
  



Ross & Cromarty 
  

 61 
  

 114 
  

 27 
  

 50 
  



Shetland 
  

 14 
  

 11 
  

 2 
  

 2 
  



Skye & Lochalsh 
  

 22 
  

 13 
  

 2 
  

 3 
  



Tayside 
  

 865 
  

 815 
  

 647 
  

 792 
  



West Lothian 
  

 116 
  

 192 
  

 192 
  

 193 
  



Western Isles 
  

 67 
  

 60 
  

 22 
  

 53 
  



Total 
  

 6,692 
  

 11,072 
  

 6,439 
  

 7,348

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have (a) joined the New Deal for Young People and (b) moved into (i) subsidised and (ii) unsubsidised employment since the New Deal’s inception, broken down by unit of delivery.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.

  Figures requested by unit of delivery are noted in the table:

  


Unit of Delivery 
  

No. of starts to New Deal YP 
  

Number into Subsidised jobs 
  

Number into Unsubsidised jobs 
  



Argyle and The Islands 
  

867 
  

49 
  

406 
  



Ayrshire 
  

7,626 
  

329 
  

3,338 
  



BORDERs 
  

1,117 
  

47 
  

551 
  



Caithness & Sutherland 
  

510 
  

25 
  

204 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

2,192 
  

140 
  

942 
  



Dumbarton 
  

3,264 
  

122 
  

1,462 
  



Edinburgh, East & Mid Lothian 
  

5,739 
  

203 
  

2,557 
  



Fife 
  

6,116 
  

224 
  

2,619 
  



Forth Valley 
  

4,411 
  

259 
  

1,955 
  



Glasgow 
  

14,854 
  

514 
  

5,574 
  



Grampian 
  

3,087 
  

103 
  

1,386 
  



Inverness & Nairn 
  

760 
  

38 
  

357 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

11,096 
  

437 
  

5,022 
  



Lochaber 
  

142 
  

4 
  

84 
  



Moray, Strathspey & Badenoch 
  

705 
  

29 
  

391 
  



Orkney 
  

136 
  

12 
  

69 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

4,354 
  

145 
  

2,060 
  



Ross & Cromarty 
  

596 
  

39 
  

299 
  



Shetland 
  

105 
  

4 
  

55 
  



Skye & Lochalsh 
  

134 
  

8 
  

71 
  



Tayside 
  

6,795 
  

340 
  

2,983 
  



West Lothian 
  

1,980 
  

54 
  

1,004 
  



Western Isles 
  

339 
  

37 
  

152 
  



Total 
  

76,925 
  

3,162 
  

33,541

Parliamentary Questions

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will give a substantive answer to question S1W-17753 lodged on 23 August 2001.

Susan Deacon: Question S1W-17753 was answered on 12 October 2001.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications (a) not exceeding £1,000, (b) over £1,000 but not exceeding £10,000, (c) over £10,000 but not exceeding £50,000, (d) over £50,000 but not exceeding £100,000 and (e) over £100,000 have been approved to date under the Rural Stewardship Scheme, broken down by each Environment and Rural Affairs Department area office.

Ross Finnie: No applications for the Rural Stewardship Scheme 2001 have yet been approved.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total funding available under the Rural Stewardship Scheme is in the current financial year and what funding will be made available in 2002-03.

Ross Finnie: Rural Stewardship Scheme payments for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 financial years will be funded from modulation of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments in respect of 2001 and 2002 respectively. Since it is too early to know the total CAP payments for these years, the funding available for RSS cannot be established yet.

Rural Development

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much and what percentage of the money allocated under the Rural Stewardship Scheme in the current and next financial years will be given to farms with land areas of (a) less than 50 hectares, (b) between 50 and 100 hectares, (c) between 100 and 200 hectares, (d) between 200 and 400 hectares and (e) greater than 400 hectares.

Ross Finnie: It is not possible to say how much, and what percentage of the money allocated under the Rural Stewardship Scheme, will be given to farms with land areas of (a) less than 50 hectares, (b) between 50 and 100 hectares, (c) between 100 and 200 hectares, (d) between 200 and 400 hectares and (e) greater than 400 hectares, in the current and future financial years, until the Rural Stewardship Scheme applications for each relevant year have been approved.

Sport

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to support and develop equestrianism.

Allan Wilson: Sportscotland gave the Scottish Equestrian Association grant-in-aid of £16,500 and a payment of £800 for sports science costs in financial year 2000-01. Subject to a suitable application being received, the association should attract a similar amount of grant-in-aid in 2001-02. The association has also benefited from awards made through  sportscotland’s Junior Group and Performance Coach Development Lottery programmes totalling £48,330.

Victim Support

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total costs were of the publication, including the design, photocopying, printing, internet connection of text, distribution and launch of Victims of Crime: Information leaflet, and how many copies have been distributed.

Mr Jim Wallace: The cost for the design and printing of 150,000 copies of the victim information leaflet was £17,028. This includes preparation for publishing it on the internet. There were no additional costs associated in the launch of the leaflet.

  As at 18 October, 138,310 copies of the leaflet had been distributed to MSPs, hospitals, local authorities, universities, colleges, police forces, Victim Support Scotland offices and other voluntary agencies. The cost for that distribution was £4,104.

  Prior to the publishing and launch of the victim information leaflet, research was carried out with members of the public who had been victims of crime. This cost £11,818.